Orioles’ No. 2 prospect (MLB’s No. 84 overall) Ike Irish’s first full professional season has included some extreme peaks and valleys, but the lefty slugger is back on the upswing.
Irish posted his first career multihomer game as part of a three-hit performance for High-A Frederick in a 9-4 win over the Brooklyn Cyclones at Nymeo Field on Thursday night.
The Auburn product has been on a tear of late, slashing .329/.457/.635 with six homers, 17 RBIs and more walks (17) than strikeouts (16) over his past 22 games. He extended his hitting streak to nine games on Thursday.
COMPLETE ORIOLES PROSPECT COVERAGE
That’s similar to how Irish opened this year, hitting .338 with five homers, 16 RBIs and a 1.055 OPS over his first 23 games. He cooled off dramatically in between those two stretches, however, notching a .135 average with only one homer and a .433 OPS in 20 games from May 7 through June 5.
Overall, Irish is hitting .272 with 12 homers, 45 RBIs, 17 steals and an .878 OPS over 65 games this season, a positive sign after he recorded a .594 OPS over 81 plate appearances for Single-A Delmarva last year.
The 19th-overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, Irish was taken that early mostly for his potential as a hitter. The former college catcher was announced as a backstop when Baltimore drafted him, but he hasn’t played a single game behind the plate in 2026. Instead, he’s been seeing time at three different positions (1B, LF, RF) in addition to DH.